Ekaterina's Story: A Crimson Tale set in the 1830
by laurencia98
Summary: A preacher's daughter becomes the object of the Vampire King's obsession. Tanz der Vampire Dance of the Vampires Inspired


Prologue A Mid-Summer's Night, 1730  
  
Joseph sat beside the window of his small countryside church, gazing out at the stars. He could hardly fathom that tomorrow would be the day he had been dreaming of for so long. He was but a humble village preacher, and it amazed him that such a woman would love him. The woman who had so captured his heart was the fair Roselinde. She was the most beautiful woman in all of Romania, with her hair like flaxen and her eyes like cloudless skies. "Tomorrow, I will be able to call her my own! God has truly blessed me! Roselinde loves me! It is too much to think of!," he said, happily putting on his cloak and leaving the church through the window. He had to walk. The excitement was too much to just sit and wait for the morning.  
The moon shown incredibly bright this night as he walked through the churchyard. The light reflected from the graves, sending a slight chill over Joseph. Wolves howled in the distance, as they did every night in the small Romanian mountain passes.  
Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a man on a horse galloping as fast as lightening emerged from over the hill. He was riding at a thunderous speed and appeared to be headed towards the churchyard. Joseph ran towards the man to greet him. "Is there some trouble, my good man? Why do you ride so in the black of night?," shouted Joseph.  
"Good preacher, my master this night lies dying! He has begged for a man of God to pray for him as he passes from this world to the next. Can you help him?," asked the man on horseback.  
"I shall ask for the hand of God to guide me, Sir. Where does your master dwell?," asked Joseph.  
"Mount your horse, good man, and follow me! You would never find the place if I do not lead you there," he replied.  
  
Joseph found his manner most strange, and as the man came into the light of the moon, he could detect a horrendous deformity of his body. He was humped over terribly, and his eyes were blood-shot and wild. However, Joseph was not a man to refuse anyone their last requests.  
"Allow me to get my mount, Sir," replied Joseph, taking a long look at the man.  
Joseph returned moments later with his mare, and slowly, apprehensively, began to follow his strange guide. They galloped to the edge of the dark forest, and the man suddenly stopped. "What is wrong?," started Joseph.  
"Good Man of God, might I hold your cross as we pass by this dark way, so that I may pray for my master?," asked the man.  
Joseph clasped the cross at his neck and replied, "If it would make you feel nearer to God." He slowly handed the cross to the man. He seemed to grasp it victoriously. A small laugh escaped the man's lips, "We shall proceed to my master now."  
The woods were incredibly cold and still, too much so. Joseph and his mysterious companion had been riding for nearly an hour in silence when he spoke. "Sir, I am to be married tomorrow, and I would like to know if we shall ever reach our destination? I cannot break this engagement."  
The man stopped and hopped down from his mount like a goblin, and said, "Holy man, we have reached the place!"  
Joseph looked around the expanse of dark trees. "There is no one here! If some mischief be a foot..."  
"No mischief, good man! He is here! Even now!," cackled the hunchback as he tried to raise himself to some height.  
"In the name of God, man!," shouted Joseph, turning around the find the hunchback gone. He felt a cold chill sweep over his body as he looked up into a certain large tree. His eyes were hypnotically drawn to it.  
"Look, Joseph of Sherlonvok, look at who speaks to you!," said a curious voice from the forest. A man appeared amongst the moss hanging from the limbs of the tree.  
"Who are you? What do you want of me?," cried Joseph up to the figure.  
A cold laugh came from the man. "Think, Sir!" As he spoke, an errie chorus of voices began to sing from the mists. "Listen to them! They shall tell you what it is that I want of you!"  
Joseph recongnized the Latin chant, but he could not decipher it. "What does it mean? Tell me!"  
"What does it sound like, Man of God?," asked the figure in the tree.  
"The Requiem!," replied Joseph.  
"Exactly Sir! The Requiem of someone you hold very dear!," said the spectre.  
"Not Roselinde! Please, by all that is holy, not her!," cried Joseph as he fell upon his knee. "If you be Angel or Demon, do not harm her!"  
"I am the Angel of Death! I never die, I never grow old, and I bless others with my same affliction by death!"  
"I do not understand you! What concern is Roselinde and I to you?," asked Joseph.  
"I have roamed the earth for many years, and I find Roselinde the most beautiful of women. She is uncorrupted, and mortal, to my dismay. She will not see another sunrise!," said the figure cruelly.  
"Please! Have some mercy! She is young! Death cannot fall over her! Not now or for a very long time! If you kill Roselinde, you will have to kill me!," shouted Joseph.  
"That is a task that can be easily performed, foolish man! You think that you have control over her life or death? I have but to utter a sound to beckon her and she will forget that you ever existed!," he replied.  
"Never! Her soul is too strong for whatever witchcraft or dark magic you have tried to perform upon her!," exclaimed Joseph.  
"She will hear my voice when I call to her! I hold dominion over the night. You should not have stepped onto my territory, dear man! You shall be prey to the wolves or the children of the darkness," said the ghastly form, descending from the tree. He slowly revealed a mouth full of angry, sharp teeth. One blow would surely kill the unfortunate Preacher.  
"I know what you are! You messenger of Satan! Go back to Hell from whence thou commest!," commanded Joseph reaching inside his coat to retrieve his cross, but then he remembered! The hunchback had taken it! He gave a horrible scream as the terrible force of the Vampire's grip came upon him. There was no escape! The vicious fangs shinned fiercely in the moonlight.  
"Did you think that I would summon a Preacher into my domain wearing his cross? No, I am not as foolish as you!," laughed the Vampire.  
"Have mercy! I'll do anything! I will die for her! Only spare Roselinde! With God as my witness, anything you want of me but her!," pleaded Joseph.  
The Vampire gave a cold laugh and threw Joseph to the ground. "Very well!"  
"What did you say?," said Joseph, attempting to gather himself.  
"On my honour as Count von Krolock, sir!," he replied, giving a mocking bow. "What else do you have that would possibly be of value to me? Think! What would be the nearest thing to your heart besides your future bride?"  
"My first child," replied Joseph without thinking before he spoke.  
The Count laughed. "You have it, Preacher! Your first born daughter shall be mine!"  
"Never! Take my life instead! I cannot promise my daughter to hell!," shouted Joseph.  
"Very well, Roselinde shall die and be mine!," roared the Count.  
"No! Please!," begged Joseph.  
The Count looked at Joseph with his piercing eyes and said coldly, "Surrender your bride or your daughter! If you surrender none, all shall die!" Joseph looked at that face, that pale face! He could never forget the pure anger and hate in those eyes. "Answer me now or all is lost for you!  
"Very well! Very well!," sobbed Joseph. "Just spare Roselinde!"  
"Done! She will not be under my power! Roselinde will live! However, you will surrender your daughter to me on the midnight of her eighteenth birthday! If you do not, the fires of Hell will rain upon your house! There will not be a corner of the world in which you will be safe! Do not attempt to escape, Preacher! For my eyes will always be upon your house! My eyes will not leave you until you deliver your virgin daughter to me upon her eighteenth year! Never shall I cease to watch you! Remember my eyes and the promise that lies within them! Remember! They will never fail to loom over you! However, there is one way that she escape. If she fails to tell me that she loves me by midnight on her eighteenth year, she will be free of the curse. But she will love me, hark well to that! She will deny all that you say to her for me! Her love and desire for me will be so powerful that she will flee from you! Flee, Preacher, Flee!" With that, the Count let out the most terrible cry of victory. His booming voice echoed through the forest, and tore through the night air. Then he was gone in the blue haze of fog that blanketed the dark trees, leaving Joseph alone with the terrible promise he had made.  
  
* * *  
  
Many Years Later in the village of Sherlonvok....  
  
Ekaterina von Sherlonvok was busy cleaning the house for soon her suitor would arrive. She had braided her ebony hair in an ornate fashion, which she was sure that her father would disapprove and wore her best dress for his arrival. She had to admit that she was ashamed of her rather shabby garment as she looked in the mirror. Gustav, the son of the Baron, was paying her a visit. Ekaterina secretly hoped that he would propose marriage to her soon. "He will not suggest anything besides marriage because I'm a preacher's daughter," said Ekaterina with a slight smile.  
She heard a knock at the door and ran to it blithely. "Greetings, Gustav!," she said, welcoming him in.  
"Ekaterina, I must speak with you! I would speak to your father first, but I feel that I must tell you now," said Gustav excitedly.  
"Tell me! Tell me now, Gustav!," she said, grasping his hand.  
"I want to marry you, Katy! I must have you for my bride. Say yes, my dear," replied Gustav.  
"Yes," said Ekaterina with a smile. Gustav kissed her forehead wetly.  
"I'll go tell your father, darling!," he said, kissing her hand and running happily out of the house to the church next door where her father, Joseph, was at work. *  
Gustav waltzed into the church, and embraced the Preacher. "Good heavens, boy, what is it?," laughed Joseph.  
" I have asked your daughter for her hand in marriage, and she has accepted!," said Gustav in a joyous manner.  
"What did you say?," asked Joseph, his face turning unusually white.  
" I said that I have asked your daughter to be my bride and she has most happily accepted," replied Gustav, his merriment dying a bit.  
"I'm afraid that I cannot give you my blessing in this Gustav. Ekaterina cannot marry you or anyone else," replied Joseph.  
"I do not understand you! Are you going to condemn your daughter to a lifetime of loneliness? I cannot accept your answer, Sir! Katy and I will find a way to marry with or without your blessing!," said Gustav angrily, and with that, he ran from the church.  
Alone, Joseph buried his head in his hands. "Only three more days until her eighteenth birthday...three more days! Oh, God in Heaven! What else could I tell that boy? The truth? No, it is too painful and steeped in evil for the boy to understand! And Roselinde! Oh, my lovely one! Dead eighteen years to the day of Katy's birth! The evil wrought upon my house is great, and the worst is yet to come! Krolock will cause some harm to this boy if he interferes with the bargain, oh evil bargain! I must stop anymore evil from befalling those I love! Katy must be kept safe! He will be calling for her soon. When she hears the Count's voice, I must prevent her from going to him! She must not say she loves him!" *  
"Mama...," whispered Ekaterina as she sat by her mother's grave. "You died giving birth to me. I wish you were here with me. You could tell Papa that Gustav loves me, and that we would be happy together. We would not have to be poor anymore. I could ride in a fine carriage." Katy smiled slightly and leaned against the large tree that shaded Roselinde's grave. "Gustav is a good man, and he will make a good husband for me, but he is just that. A good man to take care of me. I cannot say that I love him with a passion."  
"Katy!," called her father from the church. "I have to go to the bedside of dear old woman in the village. I will be back before dark. Do not stay outside past sunset."  
She nodded. "Papa doesn't understand, Mama. I cannot live in the church, sweep and clean all day and become a Nun." Katy lay down by the grave and sighed. "Your life ended so soon. You were only my age when you died. All that you missed, Mama." A tear fell from her eye, and dissolved into the dirt. She closed her eyes, and sleep fell upon her in the churchyard.  
  
When she opened her eyes, night had fallen. She gasped and covered herself with her shawl. It had grown quite cool in the darkness of the graveyard, and she no longer felt her mother close to her. "Ekaterina....," called a still voice. She jumped and rose to her feet.  
"Who's there? Papa?," she started.  
"No, it is not your father, child," replied the voice.  
"Show yourself to me! Are you an angel?," she asked, looking around.  
"I am your angel. Your mother has sent me for you," said the voice, as the tall figure of a man emerged from behind the tombstones.  
"My mother!," gasped Ekaterina. "How do you know my mother?"  
"I loved your mother. She was the most beautiful of women, and now she lies cold in the earth," he said as he came into the light of the moon. "I have been watching you all the days of your life."  
"Who are you? Where did you come from?," asked Ekaterina, coming closer to him.  
"I am your salvation. Come to me, Ekaterina. Look into my eyes," he said.  
"Why do you speak to me like this? I have never seen you before until this very moment," she protested.  
"But you feel as if you have known me for eternity," he replied.  
"Yes.... Strangely so," she said slowly.  
The man reached out his hand and said, "As proof of my sincerity to you, I shall grant you a wish, my child."  
"A wish?," she asked. He nodded and took her hand.  
"What do you wish for most?"  
"My mother. Just to have one thing that was hers," said Katy with tears in her eyes.  
The man reached into his cape and pulled a lock of golden hair from it. "This is a lock of your mother's fair tresses. Take it in your hand."  
Ekaterina's hand shook as she took the hair. "Is this really my mother's?"  
"Yes, she gave this to me the night before she married your father. It was as if she wanted me to keep it for you," he said in response.  
"My mother died giving birth to me. It has been my father's regret that she is dead. He feels that he killed her," said Ekaterina.  
"I am aware of how she died. Do not you fear the same fate?," asked the man.  
"No. I am stronger than Mama I believe. She was too simple to be satisfied with living in this tiny parish when she could have had so many things," replied Ekaterina.  
He smiled. "Yes, she could have been a Countess, nay a Queen! But she choose to die, and be buried here all for the foolish love of a simple man."  
"My father is a good man, Sir. I feel certain that he would not have married Mama if he knew what would become of their love. He has always loved me, but it has been a love burdened by pain. He looks at me with sadness and oftentimes pity. Do you know why? If you are an angel, you must know," said Ekaterina, testing the angel.  
"You shall know all in good time," he said cryptically.  
"I do not understand you, Spirit. What sort of angel comes shrouded in night and speaks so strangely?," asked Ekaterina. "Come further into the light so that I may see you."  
He laughed shortly, and turned his face to the moon. Ekaterina gasped in fear. "Pale Spectre, I doubt that you are an angel at all."  
"I am a sort of angel. A chained spirit, who never ceases to be tormented. Look at all these graves, my child!," he said, pulling Ekaterina into his arms and forcing her to look around the cemetery.  
"Please, why are you doing this?," she sobbed. "I have suffered for my mother's death as much as any person on the face of this earth!"  
"I have seen so many of them pass. Their inheritance is the dust. This, my dear, is your dowry! Look around! Think of all the different men and women who have been lain in this plot of ground! None of them alike, but they all have the same destination. Dust one and all! Where is the blush of thy mother's cheek or the glow of her flaxen hair? All is naught! All is naught, poor child! That lock that you hold in your hand is all that leaves a testament of her beauty! All, that is, except her fair daughter!"  
"What are you?," gasped Ekaterina, feeling the coldness of his hands through her thin shawl. "Please tell me honestly and truthfully!"  
"I am your fallen angel, my dear. The only angel who will never leave or fail you," he said in a dark whisper against her throat. "You will hear my call again, and you shall come to me when you hear it. I will show you that the night is more fair than the day. You will think of me, the moon, and stars, and the sun will hold no pleasure for you. My dark kiss will haunt you for all eternity," he said in a mystifying voice, turning Ekaterina to face him. His mouth came upon hers and kissed her with such a passionate intensity that she collapsed in his arms. Suddenly, he wrenched her from his embrace and recoiled. "Go! Ask nothing more of me! I will call for you when the time comes!"  
Ekaterina gathered herself and fled from the churchyard, having not the wits about her at the moment to fathom what had happened. She came around the corner of the church sharply, and felt herself collide with another body. "Katy, what have you been doing?," said a hysterical voice. It was Gustav.  
"Nothing, Gustav!," she said in a frightened voice. "Papa told you not to call on my anymore for now."  
"I don't care what he says, Katy! Who was that man you were with by your mother's grave tonight?," demanded Gustav.  
"I don't know what you are talking about!," she screamed, attempting to free herself from him.  
"You are lying! I saw a man with you! Is he the reason your father refuses you to me? Does he know that you will not be delivered to me a virgin bride?," he said hotly.  
"How dare you question my honour!," she exclaimed and raised her hand to his face.  
"Wench!," he shouted and threw her to the ground.  
She gasped with pain as she hit the cold, hard earth. In an instant, Gustav was upon her. "You will marry me, you detestable wench!"  
"No! Please let me go!," she screamed as he tore at her bodice. "Help! Please!," she attempted to scream as he covered her mouth with his own.  
"You will go with me now to your father's barn, and not make anymore protests!," he demanded, as he brought her to her feet roughly.  
"No, lad! On the contrary, you will release the maid and I will decide if you are to see another sunrise!," boomed a voice.  
"Who are you? You had best concern yourself with your own affairs, Sir!," replied Gustav, snatching Ekaterina to him.  
"You are no match for me, boy. Do as I say, or face something your mortal shell isn't the slightest bit prepared for. I am Count Henrich von Krolock, and my power is far greater than yours!," he threatened.  
"Help me, Angel!," cried Ekaterina.  
"Angel? Are you mad or a witch? This is no angel!," exclaimed Gustav, pulling his musket from his belt.  
"No, Gustav!," cried Ekaterina, grabbing his hand. The musket fired and struck the Count in the chest. Ekaterina screamed and buried her face in her hands. However, he did not fall to the ground. A slight smile crossed the Count's lips, and he revealed his fearsome teeth to the boy. Gustav's hand began to shake as he stood frozen in pure horror and amazement.  
"Don't come near me! You devil, you serpent!," he screamed as he turned to flee. In his terror, he did not take care to watch for the gnarled roots of the trees that covered the graveyard. His shoe caught in the snares, and he fell soundly upon his musket, causing it to fire into his chest. Ekaterina screamed as she heard the shot fire into the night. She slowly, hysterically approached the boy's lifeless form. The sight of his crimson blood upon the ground pronounced his death. The neighboring villagers no doubt had heard the fire in the middle of the still night as well.  
"They will blame me with this!," screamed Ekaterina. The Count came behind her, and looked down at the body.  
"The sun will be rising soon! I must crawl back into the belly of the earth!," he said miserably.  
"Is there anything you can do to help me? I will surely go to the gallows for the poor wretch's death!," she cried.  
"You are under my watch. The mortals will not be able to touch you. I feel the sun coming up upon me! I must go! You will not be under their oppression!," said the Count, and then he was gone, leaving Ekaterina alone as the villagers who heard the musket fire arrived at the churchyard. * Two Days Later......  
"Ekaterina von Sherlonvok, by the whole agreement of this court, you are hearby sentenced to death. You are to be hung by the neck at Midnight tonight for your crimes against God and Mankind. Such is the sentence for murder and witchcraft!," deemed the ominous voice of the judge.  
Ekaterina gave a sob and stared like a zombie into the air. "No, she is innocent! Please spare my daughter!," pleaded Joseph.  
"Reverend, as respected as you are in Sherlonvok, we cannot allow a witch and a murderess to dwell amongst us. The only thing you can do for your daughter now is pray for her wretched soul!," replied the Judge.  
"But she is innocent! I know my daughter, and she is no witch and murderess! Allow me to take her punishment!," he begged.  
"Punishing the blameless is displeasing to God, Preacher. You of all people should know that. Ekaterina shall die at midnight for her crimes!," proclaimed the judge. *  
  
Joseph walked sadly into the prison chamber to see his only daughter for what he thought was the last time. The jailer allowed him inside her cell, and Joseph immediately took her in his arms. Ekaterina wept madly at the security of her father's embrace. "My baby, do not cry! Please....I cannot bear it," he sobbed.  
"Papa, will it take very long? Pray that God will make it as painless as possible," cried Ekaterina.  
"Shhh," he whispered as tears poured down his cheeks.  
"I did not kill him, Papa! Gustav fell on his musket while trying to flee the angel in the churchyard,  
  
she wept.  
"Angel? What do you speak of, Katy?," he asked, stroking her head.  
"There was a man who appeared to me the night Gustav was killed. He told me that he had loved my mother, and that he would return for me," replied Ekaterina.  
Joseph gasped. "At midnight tonight, you will be a woman of eighteen years, Katy." He thought back to his bargain with the Count all those years ago.  
"At least I shall be with Mama when this is over," she sobbed, pulling the golden lock of hair from her pocket. "He gave this to me. He told me that it was my mother's. Is it, Papa?"  
Joseph took the hair and pressed it to his face. "That it is, Katy." He never imagined that the Count would require Ekaterina's life of her in this way. "God in Heaven, she is so young! If there is any mercy left for me in the heart of all that is good, I beg that it be bestowed upon you! I would deny my hope of Heaven to see you walk through the gates of this prison and be free, Katy!"  
"Do not leave me, Papa. Please, stay with me until the end. I feel myself going mad when you are away! I pull wildly at my hair and tear my clothes with fear when I don't have you!," begged Ekaterina. Her father could look at her haggard tresses and soiled gown and perceive that his daughter was in a state of madness.  
"Have faith, my child! Please do not let these demons prick you with their darts!," he pleaded with her as they rocked back and forth together.  
"I'm afraid, Papa! So afraid! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! Not like this!," she sobbed into his shirt. "Only an hour or so more.... So short, my life, wasn't it, Papa? Only a brief moment in the passing of time. I tried to be good. I hope that my dishonorable death shall not send me to Hell. I wanted so to be what you wanted of me, with Mama being dead. I felt as if I owed it to you to be everything good and honest, but alas, I failed, didn't I, Papa?," she rambled madly.  
Joseph thrust his Bible into her hands and held her as tightly to him as he could. "If I could spare your life with words of love, Katy! I feel as Abraham of Old as he took Isaac to be a sacrifice! But if I had my will, I would not allow you to die! I would flee this place with you in my arms like I held you as a little girl!"  
Ekaterina shook in fear during those final moments in the cell. Joseph had never heard such mournful gasps and moans as those that escaped the mouth of his daughter. She had nearly fallen out of consciousness when the jailer opened the cell. Joseph trembled at the horrible sound of iron clashing together, and Ekaterina stirred. "It's time. Bring the murderous witch out!," ordered the jailer.  
"Spare us your self-righteous piety, Sir. Leave my daughter in peace," replied Joseph. Ekaterina walked slowly with her father and the jailer past the cell door. The detestable jailer shoved her father aside, and pulled Ekaterina screaming after her father to the exit of the prison.  
  
Another guard came and supported her with his arm as she neared collapse. His face was covered with the executioner's black hood. Ekaterina sobbed and asked him, "How would you like to be carried like a mad coward to your death? I wish that I could face this beautifully and finely, but I can't! I can't!"  
He looked deeply into her eyes, and said, "Ekaterina, have you forgotten what I told you?"  
"Angel," she gasped.  
"Silence," he replied.  
She felt the cold night air slap her face as they stood before the scaffold. On trembling legs, she slowly began to take the long walk up the steps. Torches burned all about the execution site. The whole village was there; people she and her father had once counted as friends now shouted, "Hang the murderess! Burn the witch!" Her heart raced as she heard their horrible shouts and felt the heat from the flames. Ekaterina saw her poor father, kneeled in fervent prayer.  
The executioner raised his hands up, and the shouts died. "Tonight, we have come together to punish the most horrible of creatures. A murder! The most detestable of all those who have ever slithered 'or the earth is before us! Do you know the name of this creature? For I say, people of Sherlonvok, no evil stands at this scaffold to be punished! Nay! Nay! It is you who are murders of the helpless! And I give you that which befits your crimes!" The Count grabbed a nearby torch and threw it into the air. It hit the ground, and a conflagration of flames surrounded the spectators. They screamed in absolute terror as the wicked flames seemed to chase after their flesh.  
Ekaterina collapsed at the sight, and the Count gathered her in his arms. He fervently placed a kiss on her trembling lips as she fell against him. It took all of his will to prevent from taking her in that instant.  
  
"Please spare my daughter! Please!," cried Joseph as he ran to the scaffold.  
"Reverend, the bargain has been met! She is no longer your concern!," said the Count angrily as he disappeared with Ekaterina. *  
When Ekaterina opened her eyes, the scene of the scaffold was far away. She was lying in a huge bed with dark draperies all around. Her soiled and tattered gown was gone and in its place she wore a long white silk creation. A fire burned in the hearth, and its warmth was enough to comfort her. She arose from the bed, and came closer to the fire to warm her freezing body.  
"I thought that you would be cold, so I ordered my servant to prepare a fire for you," said the Count, making his presence known in the room. "I have little need of a fire myself." She looked at him very closely. Ekaterina could not help but to think of the Count as attractive had he not been so pale. His white shirt with lace at the cuffs, and his black breaches and boots would have made for an attractive portrait. The silver mane of hair that crowned his head was neatly braided, and he had a certain air of calmness about him that she had not felt earlier.  
"You saved my life. How could you seek to save me from such a death if you are a fallen angel?," asked Ekaterina."  
"It was Shakespeare who said that nothing is good or evil, but thinking makes it so, Ekaterina. The villagers of Sherlonvok see me as the monster that I am, but you, who have such a limited knowledge of such things think me an angel," said the Count.  
"But good can come from bad, Henrich," said Ekaterina, touching him. He felt the warmth of her fingers, and gasped. "I know who and what you are, yet I am not afraid."  
"If you knew all, you would hide your face from mine," he replied darkly.  
"No, you saved me from a horrible death. A worse death than I would find here with you," she said.  
The Count looked at her with a strangely knowing gaze. He extended his arms to her. "Come to me, Katy." He did not have to use his powers to beacon her. She came to him willingly.  
"Kiss me again," said Ekaterina as she felt his arms close around her. "Once more..." She again felt that mysterious kiss and its magic upon her.  
"Come with me, my innocent one," he whispered. "Shall you leave me alone in the darkness?"  
Ekaterina fell into his eyes, and she could feel herself spiralling into their depths. "Nay," she replied between his caresses. "My love," she gasped in the dizziness of passion.  
"What did you say, Ekaterina?," he asked, pressing her closer to him.  
"I love you," whispered Ekaterina. "I belong to you as my mother before me did. Make me what you are, Henrich, so that I may never have to take my place in death's shade.... I never want to lie in the cold ground and become nothing when I could be alive."  
"My frozen heart now aches for you, love. I wish that I had mortal tears to share with you now. Do you have the knowledge of what you are asking me to bestow upon you?," he replied.  
"I want no one's tears! I know that I do not want to be alone! I don't not want to grow old and feeble! I cannot be without you; without this strange fire that surrounds me when I feel your presence. I want to feel it forever, Henrich," she replied passionately.  
"I want all that you are. I want your body, your soul," he said warmly, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand.  
Ekaterina tilted her head back and said, "Then take it, my lord. I can love none but you now."  
He braced her waist with his hands and pulled her willingly to him. His fingers touched her throat and her long ebony hair. His long fingers deftly plucked away the laces of her garment, and Ekaterina felt as if she would explode with this indescribable feeling that possessed her. His hands were becoming warm as they caressed her breasts. She felt her camisole slowly glide from her shoulders, and the Count's mouth touched her. Ekaterina gasped as his lips slowly journeyed upward to her neck. She could tell that he was trying to be as gentle as the beast within would allow him to be. She braced herself for the anticipated stab of pain. "Do you love me?," she asked breathlessly.  
"Katy, I do love you. Find it in your heart now to forgive me for being what I am," the Count whispered. He carried her to the draped bed and lay her down. His embrace had a skill that could only be acquired by centuries of seduction. Ekaterina wondered how many others had been where she was now during the Count's existence. She could hardly discern the thoughts that went through her head as he kissed her. The intensity of it was painful, and she gave a cry as he removed his mouth from hers. He buried his face against her throat so that she would not see his fangs begin to take form. She felt his hands cup her face as his fangs came within her. All was still for a moment, then she felt very tired. Her eyes began to grow weaker, and her body was giving way to a new force. She moaned as she submitted her lifeblood to him. Ekaterina did not know if it was pleasure or an intoxicating fear that swept over her being.  
"Henrich!," she gasped weakly as he withdrew from her. Ekaterina fell limp in his embrace. "I'm dying."  
"You shall awaken to eternity. An eternity with me," he said, caressing her dark hair.  
"Eternity?," she murmured.  
"Close your eyes, my love. Let your mortal self sleep," said the Count.  
"Do not leave me, Henrich. I shall be afraid if I awaken and do not see you," said Ekaterina softly.  
"I shall be with you, fair one. Good night, sweet Princess," he said with something a kin to tenderness in his voice. Her breath stilled and her eyes became as glass. The Count closed her sightless eyes and kissed them. "Lovely one," he sighed as he held her body. *  
The Next Nightfall.....  
Darkness once more fell upon the earth, and the Count was awakening from his sleep. This night, his thoughts were possessed by Ekaterina. He had left her in her bed, the drapes drawn to protect her from any rays of light.  
He entered her chamber, and pulled back her coverings. She looked so eternally beautiful lying there before him. The Count took her still hand and kissed it softly. "Arise, Ekaterina. Hear me, my love. Take off the chains of death, and awaken to your new life."  
Her hand pressed his, and her eyes began to open slowly. "Henrich," she gasped, looking around her. There were six gently lighted candelabras casting shadows on the walls, and the glow of moonlight filled her.  
"You have crossed over, Katy. No one can harm you now. No one can touch you but I," he said with a smile as his lips came down to hers.  
"Henrich....I am so hungry! I feel the hunger gnawing at me!," she said wretchedly.  
"Would you like me to provide something to calm it?," he offered, producing a goblet. "Drink, my dear."  
Ekaterina eagerly took the cup and drank ravenously. "It is blood, isn't it?," she gasped.  
He nodded slowly. "That is the only thing that will ever stop the terrible hunger, my love. You shall never have to kill, Ekaterina. I will provide the lifeblood for you if you desire."  
She clutched him to her and said, "What of my father? He should be told that I live, in some form anyway."  
"I will give your father a sign that you are in my care. You are much too weak to attempt to go outside the castle tonight," said the Count.  
"Please, let me go with you! I want to see my father again, if only once and for a brief moment," pleaded Ekaterina. "Then I shall never speak of things outside of you again, but please, just this one last time."  
"Very well," he said, raising her up from the bed. She noticed that she was wearing a richly embroidered crimson gown with a profusion of white lace at the neck and cuffs. "My Princess," the Count whispered as he kissed her hand. "A mere mortal would die at the sight of your beauty tonight."  
He kissed her passionately in the light of the moon, only this time, she was able to return his passions. The Count led her to the balcony of his castle, and surveyed the night sky. "The beauty of the night is so subtle, and yet I look at it now, and find daylight's rays hard to remember," said Ekaterina.  
"Yes, I cannot remember the daylight, although I think of what it must have been like to be alive. When one has been changed so long as I have, it is hard to remember anything from my mortal years," he said pensively. "So many years, so many suns have gone down since those times. It is best not to think on them."  
Ekaterina took his arm. "How old are you, Henrich?"  
He laughed slightly, and replied, "It is no matter, Katy. Years have no meaning to us now. Just the sunsets. We number our lives by the setting of the sun."  
"My mysterious love, shall I ever be able to unravel all your secrets?," asked Ekaterina, stroking his hair.  
"If I may unravel yours," he replied, pulling her even closer.  
"We have forever to discover each other," she whispered.  
"Yes, forever," he replied.  
"How many nights does forever have?," she mused.  
"We shall see by and by," said the Count quizzically. "We shall see...together."  
Ekaterina smiled and looked into his eyes, the color of night sky. She knew that those eyes would hold her captive within their tempestuous depths while eternity rolled. * FINIS 


End file.
